Automobile parking machine



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J. E. MORTON AUTOMOBILE PARKING MACHINE Filed July 9, 19,25 s sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEYS J. E. MORTON AUTOMOBILE PARKING MACHINE Dec. 1l 1925.

' s sheets-sh eet Filed July 9, 1925 'INVENTOR Jmes EJloron/ i Z7 BY WITNESSES ATTORNEYS Dec.. 1 J 1925. 1,564,100

J. E. MoRToN vAUTOMOBILE PARKING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1925 s shets-sneet s INVENTOR ATTORNEYS liletenteri Dec., il, i925 I U fl JAMES ERNEST M0RT0N,I0F WEST LAFYETTE, INDIANA, SSIGNOB, 0F @NE-HALF TCE JAMES H. MCVEETY, F MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

AUTOMOBILE PtlllNG MACHINE. i I

Application tiled 5111319, 1925'. Serial No. 42,527.

To alt wwm t moy concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES E. Monron, a citizen ofthe United States, and aresident of TWest Lafayette, in the county of Tippecanoe and State oft Indiana, have invented a new and improved Automobile Parking Machine, ot which the following is afull, clear, and exact descriptione This invention relates to automobile parking machines, an object of the invention being to provide an improved construction and arrangement of tower having improved mounting `for supporting chains with platforms connected thereto, each platform adapted to receive and support an automobile and capable of operation so as to move the automobile up and down in two dierent columns so that a minimum. oi ground space is required `tor the accommodation of a large number of cars.

A further obiectis to improve upon the 'construction set forth in my Patent No. 1,555,692.

"With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features ot construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, which 'will be more Figure 4 is a broken view in longitudinal section through the machine;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in section on the line 5-5 ot Figure 4;

Figure (l is a fragmentary view in section on the line 6 6 of Figure l;

Figure 7 is la view in horizontal section on the line 7-7 of Figure e;

Figures 8 and 9 are fragmentary views in elevation, illustrating portions of different chains and the manner ot couphng or connecting the platform supporting fingers thereto;

Figure l0 is a top plan view of one of the carlsupporting platforms; l

Figure ll is a somewhatv enlarged view, showing one of. the chain guides slightly modied, this modification being of course applicable to all of the chain guides.,

A represents my improved tower, which is of skeleton form and which may have the parts rigidly or removably connected,

whereby the tower may be readily` taken down and moved from; place to pleceandv and the upper trame end also located at the.

corners oi the base of the tower and, serve to connect a frame or base work 6 to the tower.

@t course ll do not limit myself to eny particular form of `framework. as this may be made of angles, channels and. other well known types ot steel bars, but desire to cover broadly the idea ot an open framework tower which may be readily assembled and taken apart, the several arts being either bolted or riveted in accor` ance with the desire of the trade.

For purposes of description I shall renterI to the tower as having iront and rear ends, that portion of the tower where the cars enter being known as the front and the oppo site side or end of the tower the rear.

The tower extends through an opening` 7 in a floor or platform 8 so that the cars 9 titl' titl may be run from the ioor 8 onto the mal chine or into the tower, as will more fully hereinafter appear. f

At the iront and rear of the tower a pair ol spaced uprights 10 is secured and these nprights l et the corners of' the tower con- Q l he liinitet stitute box-like easings, snitshly slotted the reception lof the several runs ol 'the chains which will he described.

At the-upper 1nd lower l of the tower horizontal channels ll s' Ld i2, respectively, nre provided for t ipper and lower runs of the chains, and ti i lower channels ere eopehlenf vortice-.l adjustment so es to ed inst. the te sion ol the ehoin.

Convoi lent ness for adjusting is illusirated in Figure i. where l` seits 'i3 are pro- 'jected tlirongl slots 11i in the plates Send are secured ey nnss lo. ln en T event desire to provide some ineens which will 'secnrethe lower channels 12 el; e desired ver tical adjustment-so that the chains ereinnintained relatively tout, land l do not Wish to to the specific k.manner of adjust ment. i

,flny desired nnniher of csr supporting;l platforms l@ may he provided end these platforms, one et' which Aillust-rated in lifz'nfe l0, have supporting fingers et both snes, supporting linger i7 at one. end being longer than the other supporting linger i8 :it the some end, end said longer fingers heing diemetrically disposed With relotion to the shorter lingers.v s

Gn top of each platform provide on upwardly projecting receptacle 19 having tapering or inclined ends, so that when the ear is on the platform this receptacle .will catch -any grease which may fall from the car and prevent the seine from passing to the cars below, and furthermore will guide the cars on and oli the platform.

The platforms may oe strengthened and braced in any'desired manner, but I have illustrated for the purpose n pair of angle irons 20 which are secured together intermediate their endsnnd flare outwardly at their ends and are secured to transverse strengthening hors Each platform at both ends is provided With'nn opstanding pleite Q2 on which n numeral may be pro-` er ot' connecting the platforms to .on

. chains, nil of which will nov: he de-y scribed in detail.

First. would stets 'that ll employ both et the front and nt. the rear of the tower three erste ond distinct endless chains y he distingn ns iollo\vs:` 22e-l the central ehnin 'which is lox@diete tl sides the lower und .fino

r, sini t nprights l0.

At the. front and rear et the tower, in

addition to the chain 2e, f. ilete rnn el 'iin is located. .i

e rmi in order to i.'

center chain 2e endf Q8, 29 :indigo at theop ono oi'. the tower, end the vertio path throughout the 'l'nll aren of and rear, end for this reason l cef full length l ehain.

At the front and rear the holt length chains 27 are also provided with and. nre supported on sprocketv Wheels and the top and bottom ot' 'the t ,'lhe fertical runs ot' these chains o 'the heit length chain QT et the rear ot' the tower.

All the other chains have hook-like links 3l for the reception of the shorter tingere 3.8 of the respective platforms. These links le give sufficient hearings to the .fingers to pro-` vide.l s rm support for the pltorn, but they ere so arranged as to sillonT the lingers to ride into and out of engagementwith the chains as the platforms move horizontally et the upper and lower ends ot' the tower so es to be transferred from one vertical column of the tower to the other.

1While ot' course lv do not limit myself.z to

my psrticnlar means lfor transmitting; power :nove the several chains? l have illustrated in Figure 2 en electrie ster 35 mounted en top et the tower and eonnected .by e. gear 36 with snsit whieli the sprorlret wheels 29 and :c secured. All ofthe sprocket w 're or the saine size so that a uniform mow-nient is imparted to the chains viheA machine operating.

As all the plntlorms operate precisely alike the description heieineter el one platform will apply alike to all. liefen is made pnrticnlnrly te Fioure il oi' the drewings. Assuming that the let`t-hnn l plo, lS moved upwardly until it renchw-z its liilfhest position it will then he moved iis? i incarico tally to the. right of Figure 3 and all four corners of the platform will be supported. The reason is this: that the channels ll at the top of the tower will support the horizontal runs 'ef the chains and while the shorter fingers 18 have a tendency to leave the chain 26 they cannot move downwardly because they are housed within the channel l1.

The longer fingers 17 which have been connected to one run of the center chain 2t will leave this chain and move to the right and into the bearings or hook-shaped links 34- of the chain 236, so that while the leftliand runs of the'chains 26 will support the left-hand column of the platforms either in their upward or downward movement these platforms when moved to the right column will have their shorter fingers supported by the right-hand rims of the chains 24'. The

` `center chain 24 will support the fingers adjacent thereto both in their upward .and downward movements but Awill permit their release, being transferred horizontally from one column to the otlier,"and the longer lingers of each platform will be permanently connected to the halflength chains 27.

It will thus be noted that while the platforms can be moved upwardly and downwardly at the will of the o rater when said latforms reach either t e upper or the ower end of the tower, they are transferred laterally fi'om one column to the other and all four corners of the platform are supported at all times. A

While I have described the movement 'of the platforms at the top of the tower, 1t is to be understood that their movementsat the bottom or lower end of the tower are precisely the same, and that the channels 12, illustrated in detail in Figure 6, will give sup ort to the lingers, which might have a ten`ency to move away from their chains during such horizontal or lateral movement.

The vertical box-like guides 1 andlO at the front and rear of the tower prevent any lateral swinging' movement of the platforms, and I may provide in these guides adjustable wear plates 38 having set screws 39 back of the same to adjust them toward and away from the chains so as to take up wear and preventlateral or wabbling movement of the chains. y

In operation the cars 9 are run onto the platforms 16 when the latter are at the floor level 8 and the motor 35 is controlled to cause said platforms to raise or lower until the entire tower is full of cars. Amy particular car can be removed at any time desired by causing the mechanism to operate to bring that car to the floor level, and the operator can walk out on the bridge 23 and into the-car and drive away.

lt will be noted that the runs of the chain are closely confined in their box-like guides, and in .the event that the chain breaks there would be a piling up of vthe chain to stopthe movement of the platform and prevent accidents.

Various slight changes and alterations might he made in the general' form of the parts described without departing from my invention and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim i I claim:

1. An automobile parking machine, including a skeleton tower, a plurality of endless chains at two sides of the tower, two columns of car receiving platforms mounted on said chains, means permitting the platforms to move laterally at the upper and lower ends of the tower, a floor throughwhich the tower projects and .from which cars may be driven onto the latforni, and a bridge in the tcwer ,located at the floor level between the two columns of the platform.

2. An automobile parking machine, including a skeleton tower, a pluralityof-.endless chains at two sides of the tower, twocolumns of car receiving platforms mounted on said chains, means permitting the platforms to moveslaterally at the upper and lower ends of the tower, andbox-like slotted vertical columns cn the tower receiving and housing the vertical runs of the` chains.

3. An automobile parkin machine, including a skeleton tower, a p urality of' endless chains at two sides of the tower, two columns of car receiving platforms mounted onsaid chains, means permitting the platforms to move laterally at the upper and lower ends of the tower, box-like slotted vertical columns on the tower receiving and housing the vertical runs of the chains, and adjustable means engagingthe vertical runs of the chains.

4. An automobile parking machine, including a skeleton tower, a plurality of` endless chains at two sides of the tower, two columns of car receiving platforms mountedon said chains, and means permitting the platforms to move laterally at the upper and'lower ends of the tower, each platform having a grease receptacle thereon and havin fingers at the four corners thereof engaging the res ctive chains.

5. A machine ofy thev c aracter described, including a tower, three sets of chains at the front and rear of the tower, sprocket ico wheels supporting said chains, one of each e set of chains constituting a central chain intermediate of the sides of the tower,,one of said chains substantially conforming in length to the contour of one end of the tower U5. @es supporting the fmgers in lato tha paform ab the upper 

